StoryCorps: Shirley Young '55 and Marylin Chou '55, Discuss How Wellesley Taught Them to "Connect the Dots"

March 28, 2016

Our Monday Daily Shot StoryCorps series, which is devoted to sharing conversations about Wellesley's effect on the lives of its students and alumnae, continues today with a conversation between classmates and longtime friends Shirley Young '55 and Marylin Chou '55. The duo discussed the ways Wellesley taught them to "connect the dots," a skill that they said helped them to succeed in life after college.

Young shared that she had a hard time choosing her major and decided instead to take every class that sounded interesting and had a good teacher. "It was through that that I learned, that actually everything is connected to everything. Because in the end, you’re dealing with people. So it doesn’t matter whether it’s art, or economics or language, they're all connected. And if you can connect the dots, you really can make things happen...."

Chou pointed out that Young's career has been "connecting global dots." Young helped to bring General Motors to China.

Young said, "When you go to college, you have an opportunity to start finding out who you really are... What you need to do in college is to broaden your perspective, so that you know what kind of person you want to be and what the possibilities in the world are...This is a time for you to develop as a person. And make use of it."

This conversation, and other stories, will be preserved for future generations to serve as a lasting record about the women of Wellesley. The stories will be posted to the Campaign microsite and added to Wellesley’s archives. Additionally, StoryCorps will archive Wellesley’s stories at the national archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.